The family of a Connecticut couple killed only inches from their children when a 70-foot tall tree fell on their car as it traveled on a major highway are suing the state for millions.

The 2007 tragedy claimed the lives of Dr Joseph Stavola, 46, and his lawyer wife Jeanne Stavola, 42, while their two sons aged seven and nine-years=old watched in horror from the back seat.

Both children survived, but it took nearly seven years to file a lawsuit because of what the Hartford Currant called a ‘system for winnowing out legal claims against it.’

Scenic: Tress famously line the Merritt Parkway for the bulk of it's length

The March 28 lawsuit is believed to seek $6million for the death of Joseph Stavola, $5million for the death of his wife, and an additional $2million each for James and William Stavola, the couple’s now-teenaged children.

The Currant reported that it is not known precisely what the suit demands, but that those were the numbers provided in a 2012 court hearing before the ‘claims commissioner,’ a person who decides whether the state is liable for damages.

That claims commissioner decided the state is possibly liable, and allowed the suit to proceed, according to the paper.

‘James and William Stavola witnessed their parents' tragic death from the back seat and sustained significant physical and emotional injuries as a result of having done so,’ the suit says, according to the Currant.